Thursday, March 15, 2012

Ruins Await Residents' Return in Kansas

GREENSBURG, Kan. - Rescue crews have twice searched the debris-strewn yards and splintered homes that once held Greensburg's 1,500 residents. They began a third sweep Monday to secure the area before families who lost almost everything were to be allowed back in.

Not much remained in Greenburg to go back to.

The F5 tornado, the most powerful to hit the U.S. in eight years, demolished every business on the main street. Churches lost their steeples, trees were stripped of their branches, and neighborhoods were left unrecognizable. Officials estimate as much as 95 percent of the town was destroyed. At least 10 people died in the storms.

"We've been over the town …

Meche stifles Dodges _ except Manny

Royals ace Gil Meche didn't pitch around Manny Ramirez on Friday. If he had, the Dodgers wouldn't have had a hit that reached the outfield grass.

Meche worked seven scoreless innings and allowed four hits _ three singles Ramirez _ as the Royals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1.

The only other hit he gave up was to starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, who reached on an …

Symphony shimmers with color

It was a perfect night for outdoor music at Grant ParkWednesday. The skyline's white lights glittered against the blacksky, and the Grant Park Symphony led by Paul Freeman, music directorof the Chicago Sinfonietta, provided plenty of orchestral color.

At first the colors were muted in the opening work, Gershwin's"Cuban Overture." The Latin-flavored music had a nice swagger, butshort solo turns for individual instruments were blurred. Theexotic percussion clattered and bounced, but that was moredistracting than piquant. By the slower second section, Freeman andhis players had settled in and the massed strings were playing withthat bluesy, luxurious sweep so typical of …

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Tigers beat Twins 4-2 to complete the 3-game sweep

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers have been streaky this season.

Good and bad.

Brennan Boesch believes they're about to get on a roll.

Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer in the third and Rick Porcello pitched into the seventh inning, lifting Detroit to a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.

The Tigers swept the three-game series and has won four straight in an up-and-down season.

"I think it will be mostly feast the rest of the year," Boesch said. "We got a good team and we're confident."

The two-time defending AL Central champion Twins, who have won six division titles since 2002, are used to having a good team.

Not this year.

Minnesota has …

Finland, Estonia ratify EU's Lisbon Treaty before Irish vote

Finnish and Estonian lawmakers overwhelmingly ratified the European Union's Lisbon Treaty on Wednesday _ a day before a national referendum in Ireland could determine the fate of the charter.

The Finnish Parliament voted 151-27 in favor of the treaty, which was negotiated after voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the European Constitution in referendums in 2005.

In neighboring Estonia, lawmakers in Tallinn approved the treaty in a 91-1 vote.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the votes.

"The European Union will be stronger and better equipped to serve its citizens in the face of today's global …

VIOLENT CRIME ON THE RISE

VIOLENT crime recorded in North Somerset surged by more than 25per cent last year, according to controversial Home Office figuresreleased today.

The Avon and Somerset force also had the worst detection rateoutside London, with 15 per cent of crimes solved .

According to the detailed breakdown of offences in the district,there were 3,492 crimes of violence against people last year.

That figure showed that violent crime was up 26 per cent from1,877 to 2,362 along with a 24 per cent rise in sex crime, from 105to 130. Robberies were up 18 per cent in North Somerset, houseburglaries were down 17 per cent while there was a 14 per cent dropin thefts from vehicles. …

UAW wins seat on Daimler board

It is working with IG Metall to create a more global union.

Little did Steve Yokich know the brightly colored Moslem prayer cloth hanging on the wall of his riverfront office at Solidarity House would so accurately forecast the future. A gift from an Arab-American organization, it is a prayer for a "world leader" written in Arabic. As president of the UAW, Yokich is closer to that station today, as the DaimlerChrysler merger slams home the UAW's new position as a major union in the first transnational automaker.

Initially, its place in the new company seemed a bit in question. But in a history-making agreement, IG Metall, the union representing German Daimler workers, …

Obama says situation in Afghanistan is precarious

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says the situation in Afghanistan is "precarious" and "urgent."

In an interview broadcast Sunday during his first trip to Afghanistan, Obama said the U.S. needs to start planning now to send in more troops. He has called for an additional one to two brigades _ or about 7,000 troops _ to be sent to Afghanistan to help counter a resurgent Taliban and quell rising violence.

Obama told CBS News that Afghanistan has to be the central focus in the fight against terrorists.

He said the Bush administration allowed itself to be distracted by a "war of choice" but now is the time …

Donation puts computer lab on line for updates

Riverside High School Principal Paula Potter shows off one of theschool's computer labs, which could benefit …

Looking back

A month-by-month replay of 2004 from the pages of BANKNEWS Mid-Week

January. TWO FINAL RULES that reflect the federal character of the national banking system have been issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The OCC said the regulations enhance the ability of national banks to plan their activities with predictability and to operate efficiently, subject to effective and efficient supervision.

The first rule codifies a series of court decisions and OCC interpretations, establishes symmetry with federal thrifts regarding the types of state laws that apply to national banks and includes a strong anti-predatory lending standard. The second rule clarifies the …

7 bodies dumped at Mexican school field

Seven bodies were dumped before dawn Tuesday at a school soccer field in the Mexican border city of Juarez.

Neighbors in an upscale neighborhood found the bodies lined up along the field's fence, along with three banners allegedly signed by a Mexican drug gang. Officials wouldn't give details on the messages.

Alejandro Pariente, a spokesman for the local prosecutor's office, said officials were still trying to identify the victims. They had no suspects in the …

Naperville train crash remembered: 47 killed: 'Oh my God, there is a train sticking up in the air!'

Calista Wehrli remembers the tragic day vividly.

On April 25, 1946, she was at her sister's house on Center Street.Her sister was getting her wedding dress hemmed, when they heard athud. Wehrli was 20 and on leave from the Marine Corps Women'sReserve at Parris Island, S.C.

"I ran out of the house and from the porch I said, `Oh my God,there is a train sticking up in the air!' "

1946 COLLISION

It was Naperville's worst train crash. Forty-seven people died andabout 125 were injured in the disaster, which made headlines acrossthe country.

The Advanced Flyer and the Exposition Flyer had left Chicago'sUnion Station on different tracks at 12:35 …

Erfurth makes history

Bill Erfurth won't be part of today's shootout for the IllinoisOpen championship at The Glen Club in Glenview, but he made hisimpact on the championship during Tuesday's second round.

Erfurth, 73, became the first player to shoot his age in the 53-year history of the tourney. He carded a two-over-par 73 on the 7,100-yard layout that is hosting the event for the first time. An 88 inMonday's first round, however, led to his missing the cut for thefinal round (9 a.m. today). Canadian PGA Tour member Brian Payne hasa two-stroke lead on Ridgemoor assistant Jason Lee.

Lee matched Payne's first-round 68 as the best score in Tuesday'sround. Payne, who carded a 69, is at 5-under-par 137. Amateur ScottHarrington, a Northwestern student; Naperville's Curtis Malm, who wonthe title in 2000 as an amateur; and Woodridge pro Mike Troy are twoshots behind Lee at 141 in the battle for a $17,000 first prize.

Payne, 28, wasn't surprised that Erfurth made tournament history.As a 13-year-old he was paired with Erfurth in a pro-junior event atPine Meadow.

Shooting his age is incredible," Payne said. But I'm notsurprised. I know what a good golfer he is."

Erfurth was the Illinois Open champion in 1975, and that victorykeeps him in the field each year.

The only reason I'm playing is that I was grandfathered in," saidErfurth, who has 48 consecutive appearances in the tournament. Now awinner only gets a 10-year exemption."

Erfurth was head professional at Skokie Country Club for 20 yearsand considers himself retired since leaving in 1985. He did someteaching at Pine Meadow in Mundelein after that, and has been anactive player.

Erfurth was almost the first Illinois Open entrant to shoot hisage several years ago, when he carded a 69 at Royal Fox in St.Charles. He opened his round Tuesday with three 3s, a sharp reversalin form from Monday when he was 17-over-par for the day and in a tiefor 165th place.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Arthouse films

Opening this week on the local specialty film circuit:

'The Pink Hotel' Rating 3 out of 4

For his first feature, local filmmaker Chris Hefner finds inspired locations for a mystifying and satisfying period piece set in a luxury hotel on New Year's Eve "during the war." For deluxe old-time ambience, "The Pink Hotel" features scenes shot at local landmarks such as the Windermere House, the Willowbrook Ballroom and the Music Box Theatre.

Costumed in vintage wear, Hefner's characters include a loudmouth Hollywood director, a diva pulling out her teeth and a concierge planting sticks of dynamite. From Alain Resnais' "Last Year in Marienbad" to Pat O'Neill's "The Decay of Fiction," posh hotels have furnished avant-garde and experimental filmmakers with grand metaphors. One tip-off here is Hefner's "Additional Dream Material Suggested By" credit.

Another bona fide appears in the end credits: "'The Pink Hotel' was shot entirely on Kodak Super-8mm Film." The grainy, shadowy, flickering black-and-white look evokes David Lynch, Guy Maddin and European cine-expressionists from the 1920s. Flight is a leimotif.

Hefner opens with a "L'Ortolan Prologue," an exquisite animation by Lilli Carre about a surreal gastronomic rite that sacrifices dainty French birds. Later, an aerialist act by the duo Ambidextrous Acrobats flits into view. At other times, phantom zeppelins -- crafted from the skin of beached whales, we're told -- travel overhead in double exposures.

"The Pink Hotel" is scored by Tommy Johnson, with curious songs by Daniel Knox, a projectionist at the Music Box. The gothic vibe of the sound design, though, is overdone. For the world premiere of "The Pink Hotel" Knox will perform an overture on the Music Box organ, accompanied by Hefner on musical saw. The filmmaker will also screen two of his shorts.

No MPAA rating. Running time: 70 minutes. Screening at 9:45 tonight at Music Box.

'Prisoner of Her Past' Rating 3 out of 4

Decades later, a son tries to find out how his mother survived the Holocaust. He fails, but "Prisoner of Her Past" succeeds as a documentary about his attempt.

Ten-year-old Sonia apparently hid from Nazis in rural Poland. A year and a half later, she was found barefoot and frostbitten, and never said where she had been. Fast forward to 2001, when this Skokie widow was diagnosed with late-onset post-traumatic stress disorder, and placed in a Northbrook facility. She fears the Nazis still hunt her.

Chicago filmmakers Gordon Quinn and Jerry Blumenthal of Kartemquin Films begin with a still photograph of Sonia. The blinds on her nursing home window cast diagonal shadows upon her face, suggesting her memory remains behind bars. The camera slowly moves inward, never to yield her past. By the end of this 57-minute chronicle, all that her son, Howard Reich, an arts critic for the Chicago Tribune, has uncovered are old snapshots from her childhood.

Reich travels to Eastern Europe and talks to his mother's aunt and cousins, as well as a psychiatrist and New Orleans schoolgirls traumatized by Hurricane Katrina. Jazz is an atypical choice for scoring a Holocaust-themed documentary, but Reich covers jazz for the Tribune.

Sonia Reich came to the United States in 1947, married a Buchenwald survivor in 1953 and raised two children. Now she repeatedly insists she is not a prostitute. Her son can only wonder what sexual trauma may underlie her outbursts. In a wrenching irony, she denies he could have written a book about her. She spurns a copy of his The First and Final Nightmare of Sonia Reich: A Son's Memoir. No doubt she will not watch his poignant film, either.

No MPAA rating. Running time: 57 minutes. In English and Polish, with English subtitles. Opening today at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Howard Reich will attend screenings, with Quinn, Blumenthal, composer Jim Trompeter and Chicago Tribune photographer Zbigniew Bzdak also attending select screenings.

Asian American Showcase

The Asian American Showcase of indie dramas and documentaries continues through Thursday at the Gene Siskel Film Center. There's a free panel discussion titled "Byte This: Surviving the Digital Age," co-sponsored by the Department of Asian American Cultural Affairs, Columbia College Chicago. ??? In addition, "Sunsets Revisted" co-director Tadashi Nakamura, Giant Robot publisher Eric Nakamura and Bay Area songwriter Goh Nakamura are scheduled to appear at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Film Row Cinema at 1104 S. Michigan.

"Mr. Sadman" (Rating 2 out of 4 1/2): L.A. writer-director Patrick Epino pairs a great leading man and a premise just as promising in this topical comedy starring the late Iraqi acor Al No'mani playing Mounir, one of Saddam Hussein's official stand-ins. As the story begins, a knife-wielding assassin scars Mounir's face, so he is out of work. Landing at L.A. in 1990, Mounir tries to find new roles in the United States.

The never-speaking Mounir adopts various American personas: Michael Jordan, Bruce Lee, Prince and Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver." Sadly, "The Sadman" falters with a thin screenplay and weak supporting characters, including an aspiring focus-puller who set up ill-starred auditions for Mounir.

Screening at 8:30 p.m. tonight at the Film Center. In English and Arabic, with English subtitles.

"Lessons of the Blood"(Rating 3 out of 4): Yin-Ju Chen and James T. Hong undertake in-depth deconstruction of historical revisionism as they look at conflicting versions of Japan's bio-terrorism against Chinese civilians from the late 1930s until the end of World War II. (Hong earlier screened his related short, "731: Two Versions of Hell," at the Chicago Underground Film Festival.)

In "Lessons of the Blood," elderly Chinese survivors display their painful pus-leaking sores, the aftermath of exposure to germ warfare as children under Japanese occupation. Structured into 11 "Lessons," this far-ranging documentary offers an astonishing variety of newsreel, educational, TV, propaganda and Hollywood footage along with insightful commentary. History is revealed as an open wound.

Screening at 6 p.m. Wednesday. In English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean, with English subtitles.

Bill Stamets is a locally based free-lance writer and critic.

Photo: "The Pink Hotel"

Clutter-free and loving it; Those 'get organized' articles can help you to overcome a mess -- if you toss them afterward

I am a sucker for a certain words plastered on a magazine cover.If I spy 'em, you can bet I'm buying that publication.

No, these tempting phrases aren't ooh-la-la promises like "BetterSex Life Now!" or "Become a Love Goddess." Instead, I'm shelling outmoney whenever I see the words "Get Organized." My heart starts toflutter when I notice the word "clutter," as in how to get rid ofit.

Being a serious student of organization, the thought does flitthrough my mind, though fleetingly, that too many magazines, even onone's favorite subject, is not a good thing, either. They can afterall, lead to ... clutter.

Today's Tax Day, and I know a lot of you are searching throughcoat pockets and piles of paper for receipts. Not me. All my taxinformation was in a file and then separated out by categorieswithin that file.

I already have my 2007 tax file set up. But don't hate me; Iwasn't always this way.

The organization bug bit me a couple of years ago. I was aclutter junkie. People gave me stuff and I took it, whether I wantedit or not. Closets were packed with clothes I didn't wear, while mychairs were stacked with things I did. If I needed a pair of shoes,the likely place to find them was the room where I stepped out ofthem.

But then I started reading the magazine articles. And the books(now neatly alphabetized and shelved). And planning my weekendafternoons around HGTV's "Mission Organization." I've watched somany episodes of "Mission" that I feel as if I know Liz, Randy andthe other professional organizers. The best part is I have learned anew way, and clutter-free it is.

I started small, as any good organizing article will tell you. Acloset here, a drawer there. Each time I'd throw out broken,outdated things. Usable items went to the Salvation Army. Letting goof stuff really does get easier. I am ruthless now on what canremain in my home and equally tough on what is allowed entrance.

I've followed "Mission's" lead and bought all sorts of niftycontainers to keep my things neat and organized. Then I figured outwhere those containers should go. You can't follow the "Mission"mantra -- sort, stack, store -- without doing just that.

Life is a lot calmer for me. And magazines aren't really aproblem because they stay only as long as they fit into my standingmagazine holder.

A couple weeks ago I couldn't find my favorite T-shirt. Not inthe hamper, the laundry room or my gym bag. I was starting to worryI'd lost it. Then I saw it peeking out from atop the basket that isdesignated for gym clothes. The one place I hadn't looked was thedesignated spot!

There still are organization lessons to be mastered, which meansmagazines to buy. After all, as one of the "Mission" experts oncesaid, "Organization isn't a one-day event but a way of life."

Life Out Loud reflects the joys, challengers and musings of ourdiverse voices.

sontiveros@ suntimes.com

ADDRESS THIS MESS

It's time to dis disorganization. In stores this month, TheClutter Cure: Three Steps to Letting Go of Stuff, Organizing YourSpace & Creating the Home of Your Dreams (McGraw-Hill, $19.95),provides tips on how to accomplish this goal.

ORGANIZATION TIPS

Ready to admit you have a problem? If you could use some tips tounclutter your life, head to jump.suntimes.com for some onlineorganizing help.

On TV or on the stage, Caeti 'Mad' for improv

Frank Caeti's home used to an attraction on Second City's tour ofOld Town. The tour guide "would say things like, 'Chris Farley livedhere. John Belushi used to live over here. Ladies and gentleman,here's Frank Caeti's apartment.'

"People were like, 'Who the f--- is that?'" Caeti says. "Andthen, I'd pop out and throw Twinkies at them. People like freestuff."

After five years of improvising at Second City, Caeti wasrecruited by Fox's "Mad TV," where he has portrayed a portly RockyBalboa, a fake Asian parent and "Big Whitey" in a blacksploitationspoof: He distributed crazy-making grape juice in Harlem.

"Mad TV" returns with a new show at 10 p.m. Saturday on WFLD-Channel 32. Also this weekend, Caeti will take the stage at twoChicago Improv Festival shows.

For the first time in years, he's not a Chicagoan. During hisfirst season on "Mad," Caeti, 33, commuted to Los Angeles. Lastyear, he and fiancee Rachael Romanski, who worked in the businessoffice at Second City, made the big move to pretend land.

"We're very skeptical. You [feel your] soul kind of just wiltingaway, all of your dreams and desires," he says (or jokes; it's hardto tell).

Caeti isn't really complaining. "Mad TV" is great work, he says,and he figures it's possible he could even go the way of sketchactors like Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx and turn from "goofy yuk-'em-up guy" to serious thespian.

"We're this far away from being Telemundo, wearing bumblebeeoutfits," he says of improvisers. "So it's tough sometimes to takesketch actors seriously after that part of their career ends."

Caeti and Romanski haven't made all their wedding plans yet (shenow runs the Second City training center in L.A.), but they're quitesure it won't take place onstage.

"I always got skeeved out by that, because that happens at SecondCity," he says, "where somebody's like, 'Do you guys mind if Ipropose to my girlfriend?'

"And then we get them up there, and they would do it, and it'salways like, 'Yay.' Oh, God, that's so weird. Why would you do thatto somebody? ... Now we've gotta do comedy!"

Romanski seems proud that Caeti, who grew up in Bloomingdale andin Denver, is blue collar, like many Second City actors.

"They're not fancy people," she says. "They embrace theopportunities they have to work [onstage]. But they don't thinkthey're above cleaning toilets in between gigs."

At one point in Chicago, Caeti waited tables. Even as a TV actor,steady work isn't guaranteed, he says, so he also doesn't rule outbusing dirty dishes again someday.

"You're always a step away from that. I'll be glad to do it. Ihope I don't have to," he says. "You have to be prepared to ride itout, man."

Caeti improvises with ComedySportz at 8 tonight at the ChicagoCenter for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green. Tickets ($19) areavailable at (312) 733-6000; www.theaterland.com.

Then Saturday at 8, he does improv with fellow "Mad TV" castmembers at the Park West, 322 W. Armitage. Tickets ($37.50) areavailable through Ticketmaster. Call (312) 902-1500.

delfman@suntimes.com

Svan resigns as Sweden's cross-country manager

Former Olympic and world champion Gunde Svan resigned Friday as manager of Sweden's national cross-country ski teams.

"I have carried out my assignment," he said. "I made this decision because of family reasons."

Svan, 47, supervised the men's, women's and junior national teams since late 2007.

"I know a lot of people talked about the (2010 Vancouver) Winter Olympics, but I never thought so far," he said. "I promised one season, but extended it by one year."

Svan, one of cross-country skiing's all-time greats, won four Olympic and seven world championship gold medals before he finished his ski career in the early 1990's. He also won 30 World Cup races and five overall titles, one behind all-time leader Bjorn Dahlie of Norway.

CBOT feud prompts president to resign

Thomas Donovan resigned Friday as president of the Chicago Boardof Trade, ending a nearly two-decade run as the towering figure ofthe city's leading financial exchange.

Donovan, 62, stepped down because of ongoing battles with theCBOT's chairman, David Brennan. Since Brennan assumed office inJanuary 1999, the exchange has wrestled with many tough issues, suchas converting itself into a for-profit company and possibly mergingwith its La Salle Street kinsman, the Chicago Board Options Exchange.

Insiders said that with those matters looming over the CBOT,Donovan opted to leave now rather than when he had less leverage tonegotiate a contract buyout. His contract, which paid him a minimumof $1.4 million annually, was to have expired at the end of 2003.

CBOT directors accepted his resignation at an emergency meetingFriday. Exchange officials declined further comment, but sources saidthe directors approved a $10 million buyout package for Donovan.

Brennan and his supporters "wanted Donovan gone at any cost," saidBurt Gutterman, chief executive officer of Sangamon Trading Inc. "Ithink this may be a case of `Be careful what you wish for.' "

Some said the CBOT will suffer from losing Donovan's politicalskill. The president since 1982, Donovan was the patronage chief forformer Mayors Richard J. Daley and Michael Bilandic.

"The timing couldn't be worse," said Les Rosenthal, a former CBOTchairman. He said that because of infighting and businesschallenges, the CBOT "will have a difficult time getting anyone ofequal stature."

Members critical of Donovan said he was an obstructionist on the issue of reorganizing the CBOT. Brennan is pushing a plan to dividethe exchange into two for-profit companies, including one devoted toonline trading.

One trader said he was "pleased to see Donovan's resignation. He'sbeen very costly to the Board of Trade over time."

Meanwhile, sources said a possibly permanent successor, GeorgeSladoje, interviewed for the job Friday.

Sladoje was a Board of Trade executive from 1982 to 1993. He laterserved as chief financial officer of the Chicago Stock Exchange andis currently chief executive officer of the California PowerExchange.

Top-seed Kleybanova has winning start at Estoril

OEIRAS, Portugal (AP) — Top-seeded Alisa Kleybanova got off to a winning start at the Estoril Open by beating Olga Govortsova 6-2, 6-2 on Monday.

The Russian player will meet Mathilde Johansson next after the Frenchwoman beat Ksenia Pervak 6-4, 6-3.

Sixth-seeded Elena Vesnina of Russia beat Barbara Luz 6-1, 6-1 to advance but seventh-seeded Jie Zheng of China exited after a 6-4, 6-2 defeat by Romina Oprandi.

In the men's tournament, seventh-seeded South African Kevin Anderson beat Thiemo de Bakker 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. Victor Hanescu, Jeremy Chardy and Joao Sousa were all winners on the clay.

A cry in the night

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Over a number of summer nights I was shook from my sweet slumber by the same couple walking beneath my open bedroom window conversing in loud and inebriated tones. Over the course of a week or so they were like clockwork - very loud clockwork - and the conversations were a cornucopia of slurred, liquored chatter that was a convoluted combination of cursing and startlingly deep and thoughtprovoking sermon material.

On the last night of these midnight visitations, the robust banter went all-out theological. God, Jack Daniels and John Labatt were stirred together in a curious mix, and the results whetted my appetite for more as they rounded the corner and drifted off into the darkness to disturb someone else.

The man was quoting Scripture, talking about life and the reality of God. The woman, consisten�y the more obnoxious of the two, was throwing a classic God-objection in his face. "I have prayed and tried to see him," she said. "I have gone to church," she claimed. She recounted some of the pain in her life, the disappointments and anxieties, and then repeatedly called out to the Holy One: "Where is he? Where the %#&* is he?"

How would you answer her cry in the night?

Elie Wiesel, in his famous little book, Night, tells of prisoners in Auschwitz asking the same troubling and very human question: Where is God? We must take this question seriously. We must be with those who ask it. We must admit that even we who believe ask it. Even the Scriptures wonder, "O my God, I cry by day but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest" (Psalm 22:2). We must have an answer for the seeming hiddenness of God or we're no longer human, let alone honest.

If you've ever walked with the frustrat- ed, you know there are no pat answers. The fact that many rely on pat answers, clich�s or Oprahisms is perhaps proof we've been far too asleep and in need of a midnight walk. Still, we must be able to point those crying in the night to hope, to some reason to believe, and the hiddenness of God is actually one of the more beautiful aspects of the reality of a loving Redeemer.

In remaining hidden God acts in grace and holiness:

* First, he does not coerce us into belief. God respects our humanity in all its created beauty and sin-induced brokenness.

* Second, he heightens the joy of discovery. God both looks for us and waits to be found, so that our joy is complete, even in the midst of trial.

* Third, and uniquely Christian, God enters our suffering. God does not ignore us, but meets us in our pain, and we are awakened to a grace and love that would never have come into view otherwise.

God in Christ enters humanity's anguish and answers our question of where he is with a cross that flips the question around: "Where is humanity? Is this what you people do with love and grace? Who do you think you are? Do you crucify the Good and then blame the Good for not stopping you?"

Now there's a question or two that might keep us up at night.

[Sidebar]

God respects our humanity in all its created beauty and sin-induced brokenness.

[Author Affiliation]

Phil Wagler is a pastor of the Kingsfield churches in Huron County, Ont (phil@kingsfieldcommon.ca).

A fall US TV season with questions in the air

With fall in sight, ABC is inviting U.S. viewers to stay home and watch the network as an energy-saving measure.

For this tongue-in-cheek promotion, National Stay at Home Week begins Sept. 21 _ also the official start of the 2008-09 TV season.

If only sky-high gas prices would guarantee ABC a captive audience!

Alas, it's hard to make an argument that viewers are breathlessly awaiting ABC's fall season _ or any other network's. Audience buzz remains at a hush.

With the networks still reeling from the disruption of last winter's strike by screenwriters, only 17 new series have been slotted for fall _ about half the usual number.

And most of them have been unavailable for preview. As the American networks continue to play catch-up, few new shows have been put in front of critics, who, in other years, would have been warming up the crowd.

Not that there isn't plenty going on. Broadcast networks were already dogged by audience erosion, growing competition from cable and the Internet, and TiVo-equipped viewers who blow off the commercials.

These challenges are only intensifying now. So whatever the programming networks air this fall, there is likely to be drama, suspense and pratfalls as the networks race to adapt to a medium in flux.

Beyond that near-certainty, mostly questions prevail.

_ For starters: Will viewers surprise the networks (and themselves) by discovering a hit among the limited fall prospects?

The most eagerly awaited entry is "Fringe," Fox's paranormal thriller from J.J. Abrams ("Lost," "Alias"). It also happens to be an exception to all the new shows no one's seen yet: Its 90-minute pilot was screened for critics way back in June and for fans at Comic-Con in July. For weeks, it could be downloaded by anybody else to sample from the Internet.

No one will be sampling "90210" beforehand _ by design. The premiere will be kept under wraps until its Sept. 2 airing as a "strategic marketing decision," the CW network recently announced. Thanks to that strategy, any buzz about "90210" is free to dwell on the likelihood it will fall far short of "Beverly Hills, 90210," the 1990s cultural phenomenon that spawned it.

ABC is introducing just two new series. One, "Opportunity Knocks," is a trivia-based game show. The other, a cop drama with a time-travel twist called "Life on Mars," began life as a British series. But it's not the only transplant this fall.

_ Will global imports tighten their grip on the networks?

CBS' wedding woes comedy, "Worst Week," and its sci-fi crime drama, "Eleventh Hour," also have been adapted from British TV. NBC's mother-daughter comedy, "Kath & Kim," sprang from an Australian hit. CBS' "The Ex List," a romantic comedy, was inspired by an Israeli series.

They will take their place with successful imports such as NBC's British-born "The Office" and ABC's "Ugly Betty," which originated as a Spanish-language telenovela.

It's worth remembering that last fall, CBS belly-flopped with its version of the British hit "Viva Blackpool," which, transformed into "Viva Laughlin," lasted two weeks.

But for a decade, the networks have been mining reality and game-show formats from around the world with spectacular success ("Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," "Survivor" and "Big Brother" are early examples). This fall, Fox is introducing a game show called "Hole in the Wall," from Japan.

If any of the networks were to strike gold this year with scripted imports, it would likely spur an even bigger global shopping spree.

_ But will more imports, or anything else, do the trick for NBC and its entertainment czar, Ben Silverman?

A 36-year-old wunderkind producer when he came to NBC Universal 16 months ago, Silverman inherited a fourth-place network whose Fall 2007 schedule was already announced.

Today, NBC, thanks to the Beijing Olympics, has crept ahead of ABC to claim third place in total viewers. But the Olympics and their explosive ratings are just a beautiful memory as NBC heads into a brand-new season, its fall schedule crafted by Silverman's team.

Although he champions an inventive multimedia-platform approach to programming, his vision of what viewers want to see is oddly derivative: "Simple themes reinvented, accessible entry points, universality," he rhapsodized when pitching the schedule last April.

But it remains to be seen whether Silverman's stated mission _ providing a video respite from the harsh modern world _ will placate the restless channel surfer. Or whether other networks will convert to a similar gospel.

His new fall shows include "Kath & Kim"; a remake of the 1980s man-and-his-car hit "Knight Rider"; the self-explanatory "Crusoe"; and "My Own Worst Enemy," an action drama about a family man with a split personality.

At the same time NBC unveiled its fall schedule, it also presented a schedule for midseason, reinvigorated with more new and returning series.

Other networks are also adopting this strategy of prearranged replenishment. It's aimed at minimizing reruns and refreshing the lineup in an orderly way to keep viewers on board.

_ But does alerting them this far ahead to all the shows awaiting them come winter undercut the effort to excite them about fall? Will the audience suspect the networks of holding out their best stuff for midseason, stuff like Fox's spinoff from "Family Guy," an NBC comedy starring "Saturday Night Live" alum Amy Poehler, and the return of ABC's "Lost" and Fox's "24"?

Long before then, the audience will be sizing up fall entries that also include a Fox comedy about a luxury Manhattan hotel, "Do Not Disturb," and "Gary Unmarried," a CBS comedy about a guy navigating his recent divorce. CBS' drama "The Mentalist" focuses on a consultant to the cops who has a keen eye for clues but a dubious past. CW weighs in with "Privileged," about a sexy live-in tutor in posh Palm Beach, and "Stylista," a reality show where competitors vie for a job at a fashion magazine.

Still, it won't be new shows that determine the outcome of the networks' ratings race. The pivotal factor: Which network has the strongest slate of veteran series.

Several proven hits _ Fox's "House," NBC's "Heroes," ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy" _ are now awaited by viewers with eagerness that nothing new can match.

Whether returning shows like ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money," "Pushing Daisies" and "Samantha Who?" can reclaim their initial popularity after months on ice _ that's less certain.

But is anything certain as ABC sets the stage for Stay at Home Week? Right now, the networks' biggest show is a guessing game, the one they're trying to win.

___

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS and the CW are divisions of CBS Corp. Fox is a unit of News Corp. NBC is owned by General Electric Co.

___

On the Net:

http://www.abc.com

http://www.cbs.com

http://www.cwtv.com

http://www.fox.com

http://www.nbc.com

Monday, March 12, 2012

Bananas and Business: The United Fruit Company in Colombia, 1899-2000

Bananas and Business: The United Fruit Company in Colombia, 1899-2000. By Marcelo Bucheli. New York: New York University Press, 2005. xi + 239 pp. Figures, maps, tables, bibliography, notes, index. Cloth, $45.00. ISBN: 0-814-79934-5.

Foreign investment is one of the most important topics in Latin American business history, owing not only to the relevance of the firms studied but also to the political and social implications of their actions throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In many cases, research on multinational companies has taken place within the context of debates on imperialism and dependency, which became especially heated in the 19605 and 19705.

In Marcelo Bucheli's words, Bananas and Business is "the first general business and political history of the United Fruit Company in Colombia" (p. 180). It is also a polemic, as its aim is not only to recreate the evolution of the firm but to discuss some of the accepted views about its operations in Colombia as well. The book particularly deals with the assumptions of dependency theory, in which multinational companies are seen as all-powerful agents of imperialism whose aim is to permit the exploitation of Latin America by world powers with the help of local elites.

This is not the first research that has been carried out on United Fruit's activities in Colombia, but it differs significantly from previous publications, which focused on labor, land, and class conflicts before 1930 and were mainly concerned with the 1928 "masacre de las bananeras," when banana workers demonstrating in the city of Ci�naga were killed by the Colombian army. Marcelo Bucheli chooses another point of view.

In the first place, he adopts a long-term perspective, analyzing the dynamics of the firm throughout the twentieth century. This allows him to identify different stages in the history of United Fruit, which were conditioned not only by the evolution of the banana market but also by the economic, social, and political changes that Latin American countries experienced during that century. He emphasizes that these changes affected the strategy of the firm, "which was forced to adapt to the new political realities" (p. 6). The company's profitability decreased in the post-World War II period, partly because the advance of nationalism and trade unionism increased the risk of its operation in Latin America, forcing it to divest and to pull out of direct production.

Second, Bucheli analyzes the United Fruit Company as a business enterprise, looking at it in the context of its corporate strategies, its shareholders' interests, and the evolution of its consumer market. The company's operations in Colombia are examined from a businesshistorical approach, with a focus on the logic of a capitalist firm with an internal dynamic that integrated, diversified, and divested within a complex and changing environment. Its actions are seen as motivated "by one basic reason-to provide a good and secure profit rate to its investors through the sales of bananas in the United States and Europe.... This was the company's main interest, not following a wider agenda of expanding capitalism in the Third World or exploiting labor" (p. 182).

Third, this approach to United Fruit's history combines different perspectives, taking into account economic, social, and political issues. The book is organized into six chapters that analyze the evolution of the banana market, the firm's strategies in Latin America, the Colombian political context and its impact on United Fruit's operations, the labor conflicts in Magdalena in the 19205, relations between the company and the workforce after World War II, and relations between the company and local planters. The result is a fascinating picture, in which the strategy of the firm is viewed in context and the different dimensions of its operations are shown to be interrelated.

Finally, the research is based on solid empirical evidence and drawn from several primary sources that had not been consulted by other scholars previously. Bucheli delved into the internal archives of the United Fruit Company in Colombia, and looked as well at many public and private files, filling in the gaps by conducting numerous interviews with various protagonists.

The picture of United Fruit emerging from Bananas and Business contrasts with the canonic image of a company "often regarded as the quintessential representative of American imperialism in Central and South America" (p. 3). Bucheli asserts that the vision of "a politically powerful institution with enormous gains from the exploitation of the 'Banana Republics' has to be reconsidered" (p. 182). In Colombia, United Fruit could not much influence the way politics evolved. It counted on a submissive government during the business-friendly conservative administrations that were in place until 1930, but, from that time onward, it had to accept increasing government intervention against its interests, was forced to respect a social legislation that legitimated workers' rights, and had to deal with powerful trade unions. Also the relationship between United Fruit and local planters went through different stages, from the initial period in which the company had a monopsonic advantage to the emergence of a local export industry after World War II. "The workers, landowners and the government had agency, initiative and made rational decisions. None of them were resigned to accept their fate if it meant having lower wages, lower profits, or lower rents" (p. 185).

Bananas and Business is a seminal book, owing to the rigor and intelligence it applies to the recreation and analysis of the United Fruit operation and the scope of its theoretical and methodological proposals. It presents many topics that are deserving of consideration in Latin American business history, an area in which inherited prejudices too often hold sway over empirical evidence (although there have been many advances during the past two decades). Marcelo Bucheli has taken the field a big step forward in his search to comprehend rather than make judgments on the history of United Fruit. The ten years of research that took him through a large compendium of sources have prompted him to reject the conventional wisdom that was in part inspired by Gabriel Garc�a Marquez's account in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Apart from its academic value, the book is written in a pleasant, clear style, which makes it accessible to the nonspecialized public.

Reading this book opens up two questions, however, which are not answered in depth. First, to what extent does the story of United Fruit in Colombia differ from the experiences in Latin America of other multinational corporations that were forced to change their strategies under growing pressure from labor and local governments after the 19205? A comparative approach to their experiences would clarify the degree to which the United Fruit case was unique. The second question has to do with the relations among firms, societies, and politics. I wonder to what extent the search for profitability-the main target of a capitalist firm-drives companies to try to control governments, to construct a monopsonic power, to exploit its workforce, or even to approve of the massacres of hundreds or thousands of people. After 1930 the power of the United Fruit Company in Colombia weakened, but this fact does not clear up questions about its actions before that year. The same kind of query was posed by Karl Polany (in The Great Transformation, 1944), when he contested the logic of the self-regulated market in nineteenth-century Europe that produced an overwhelming reaction from society, eventually leading to a more regulated economy.

[Author Affiliation]

Mar�a In�s Barbero is professor of economic history at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. She has written many articles and edited several books on business and economic history of Argentina. She is coauthor of Globalizing from Latin America: The Arcor Case (2002) and editor of Americanizaci�n: Estados Unidos y America Latina en el siglo XX (2003) and Historia de empresas: Aproximaciones historiogr�ficas y problemas en debate (1993). At present she is working on firm strategies in the food industry in Argentina in the 19905.

Footballer to appear in court

Premiership footballer Joey Barton was due to appear in courttoday facing charges of assault and affray.

The Newcastle United midfielder was arrested in Liverpool citycentre in the early hours of December 27.

It is alleged he and other members of the group were involved intwo separate incidents following a row with another group inside aMcDonald's in Church Street, Liverpool. Barton, 25, was remanded incustody for a week but released on bail on January 3.

Broncos sign DE Smith

The Denver Broncos signed five-time Pro Bowl defensive end NeilSmith to a one-year contract Monday.

Smith, 31, ranks as one of the top sack artists in the NFL with86 in his career. But after recording only six last season, theKansas City Chiefs informed him last week that they could not affordto re-sign him.

The Broncos offered Smith a deal that reportedly will pay himbetween $1 million and $1.5 million in base salary, with incentivesthat could swell it to $3 million.The San Diego Chargers signed free-agent defensive end WilliamFuller to a two-year, $4.4 million contract and released troubleddefensive end Chris Mims.4th ref indicted on tax evasionJess Kersey became the fourth NBA referee to be indicted ontax-evasion charges for allegedly failing to pay income taxes onmoney he saved by downgrading league-issued plane tickets.A federal grand jury in Norfolk, Va., indicted Kersey on fivecharges of tax evasion, the U.S. attorney's office said. The maximumpenalty for each violation is three years in prison and a $250,000fine.Referees Mike Mathis, George Toliver and Hank Armstrong wereindicted on similar charges in February. The indictments stem from atwo-year Internal Revenue Service investigation.Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning was fined $7,500, New York Knicksforward Buck Williams $5,000 and Knicks forward Charles Oakley $4,000for a shoving incident in the Knicks' 100-99 victory Saturday.A grand jury declined to indict Portland Trail Blazers forward GaryTrent in connection with a fight at a bar in Portland, Ore., hislawyer said. Trent hit a man with a pool cue March 15 but said theother man provoked him and that he acted in self-defense.University of Minnesota forward Courtney James pleaded not guilty toa fifth-degree assault charge in Minneapolis. James was arrestedearly Saturday after allegedly hitting his girlfriend with a phonebook and throwing her to the floor at her duplex.Attorneys for Fresno State point guard Dominick Young filed an $11.2million libel suit against the Fresno (Calif.) Bee over reports thatthe player is the focus of a point-shaving investigation.

Transmissions de la vie psychique entre générations (Part 2)*

Micheline Enriquez

Quelles sont les possibilit�s, pour un jeune enfant, d'�laboration psychique d'une situation forc�e dans laquelle son p�re psychotique l'aurait maintenu? Enriquez croit que de telles injonctions identificatoires prennent d'autres voies que le refoulement, � savoir : le d�ni, la forclusion, la projection, tous g�n�rateurs d'un �trou dans la m�moire�. Si aucun facteur de r�alit� historique ne suffit � lui seul � rendre compte d'une psychopathologie, la rencontre avec la psychose parentale impose � l'enfant une violence et une souffrance exigeant un effort d'interpr�tation qu'il n'est pas toujours ais� de soutenir.

M. Enriquez cite Ferenczi au sujet �des adultes qui font entrer de force leur volont� et plus particuli�rement des contenus psychiques d�plaisants dans la personne enfantine�. On en arrive ainsi � parler de la �confusion �pouvantable� qui peut en r�sulter pour l'enfant. Parmi diff�rents points sur lesquels peuvent se �cristalliser� ces confusions, je voudrais en souligner un qui touche aux interpr�tations causales de la souffrance, quand il s'agirait de distinguer entre souffrance psychotique et souffrance d�pressive. L'enfant de parent psychotique ne peut rapporter la souffrance psychique � une perte, une d�pression ou un deuil. Particuli�rement dans le cas d'un d�lire de pers�cution, o� c'est la dimension projective de la haine, du d�sir de meurtre, de la m�galomanie, qui ne peut �tre appr�hend�e par l'enfant, sur qui elle exerce un effet d�r�alisant. Situation appelant des identifications mortif�res, � la victime et � l'agresseur. Par ailleurs la souffrance d�pressive du parent n'entra�ne pas une telle confusion dans son interpr�tation causale par l'enfant. Green a pu �crire dans La m�re morte que l'enfant d'une d�pression maternelle cons�cutive � un deuil, fait l'exp�rience d'une �perte du sens� (signification). D fait �l'exp�rience du d�sinvestissement dont il est l'objet�, mais l'exp�rience a eu lieu et a laiss� sa trace qui peut �tre retrouv�e. Il n'y a donc pas de confusion ali�nante. La souffrance du parent psychotique, en revanche, fait de l'enfant l'objet d'un surinvestissement, qui le force � devenir le support de la projection et, selon Enriquez, �l'oblige � partager et � subir souffrance et non-sens.� Pour l'enfant de psychotique, ce sera �l'effort de se d�gager de l'emprise de la projection et de l'interpr�tation causale qu'elle impose�, qui structurera son psychisme. Le message du parent psychotique impose � l'enfant �une position identificatoire mortif�re� dans la succession des g�n�rations, ce qui est inassumable � moins de recourir lui-m�me � la projection.

En r�sum�, une g�n�ralisation : Pour le psychotique, toute descendance est une menace de destruction pour lui, car la naissance d'un enfant �r�active en lui un d�sir de mort qui avait eu pour objet les propres parents.� Dans cette formulation, l'enfant est un double narcissique, porteur du souhait de mort comme d'immortalit�. La haine du p�re envers son parent risque ainsi de se rabattre sur le fils; c'est alors le pouvoir du fils de transmettre la vie, un nom, qui est l'objet sp�cifique de la haine du psychotique.

Puis vient la question de la pulsion d'investigation chez des patients ayant eu des parents psychotiques d�lirants. La reconnaissance par le patient de la r�alit� de la pathologie parentale est une condition de son d�gagement de l'emprise du d�lire, d'un travail de deuil et de d�sid�alisation du parent. L'activit� de la pulsion d'investigation pourra, selon les cas, p�cher par d�faut ou par exc�s. Par d�faut : la demande du patient est alors �une demande de soins� (psychiques); par exc�s : �une demande de sens�. Mais les cas les plus fr�quents sont ceux o� le d�ni total ou partiel de la pathologie parentale op�re dans le sens de la d�fense telle que d�crite par P. Aulagnier20. Ces patients nient donc l'agression psychique provenant du d�lire de leur parent, recourant � l'id�alisation, et � l'autre interdiction concernant toute information qui pourrait d�montrer l'abus de pouvoir sur la pens�e, et leur d�voiler que personne n'a le droit seul �de lui garantir ou lui refuser sa place dans le syst�me de parent�, ni celui de d�cider du mouvement ou de � arr�t du temps� (P. Aulagnier).

M. Enriquez remarque ici que l'abord du d�ni de la pathologie parentale, sa compr�hension et son interpr�tation dans la cure, soul�vent de grandes difficult�s. Celles-ci sont surtout reli�es � �l'existence d'un d�ni forcen� de la violence infanticide des parents.� n s'agit l� d'une clinique de la �psychose en h�ritage� organis�e autour de son d�ni, avec effets destructeurs sur le psychisme.

Il existe ainsi des patients qui savent qu'ils sont issus de parents psychotiques et qui expriment � l'analyste un d�sir d'apprendre les causes et l'histoire de ce drame. Il n'y a donc pas ici de d�ni important de la r�alit�; mais il y a d�sir de conna�tre, de ma�triser, voire de d�truire la pens�e psychotique du parent, d'o� le risque d'une certaine traumatophilie. Ces patients ont pu d�velopper une croyance id�alis�e dans le mod�le du fonctionnement psychique de la th�orie psychanalytique, c'est l� une source de grandes r�sistances, car cette croyance produit l'illusion d'un pouvoir d'effacement du sens de la pens�e d�lirante. D'o� quelquefois l'exc�s d'activit� de la pulsion d'investigation.

La question centrale : quelle place donner � l'exp�rience v�cue et au poids des conflits intrapsychiques, dans les cas o� l'exp�rience v�cue est particuli�rement traumatique et entravante pour le d�veloppement psychique? Question du traumatisme donc, pos�e aussi par rapport � la grande actualit� du probl�me des actes de violence r�elle exerc�e sur des enfants par des adultes. Si elle cite ici le Journal clinique de Ferenczi, publi� il y a quelques ann�es seulement, qui d�non�ait (avec raison), entre autres, les torts caus�s � l'enfant par les parents abusifs ou violents, et L'enfant sous terreur, d'Alice Miller (1986), c'est pour en relever l'utilisation que peut en faire une id�ologie voulant promouvoir �l'image d'une enfance innocente et pure confront�e � la violence des adultes.� On en arrive souvent ainsi � discr�diter arbitrairement les fondements de la th�orie psychanalytique (concept de l'inconscient, de la pulsion, du fantasme, du d�sir) �au profit d'une interpr�tation r�aliste, voire doloriste et moralisatrice accusatrice des parents traumatisants.� Si M. Enriquez prend bien soin de se d�marquer de cette interpr�tation (dont elle trouve qu'Alice Miller est exemplaire), elle n'en insiste pas moins qu'il faut �donner acte au patient de l'existence de sa r�alit� traumatique et tenter d'en mesurer, avec lui, les cons�quences.� Elle essaie donc, dans cette relation de d�pendance asym�trique d'un enfant � un parent psychotique, de comprendre �comment une r�alit� psychique mod�le une autre r�alit� psychique.� Or, �plus les parents sont fous, m�chants, pers�cutants, plus ils sont id�alisables, id�alis�s, m�me si c'est n�gativement.� L'enfant pourra se prot�ger en devenant un nourrisson savant (Ferenczi) et manifester cette �hypermaturit� qu'ont observ�e P. Bourdier (1972) et M. David (1981) chez les enfants de psychotiques.

Chez ces derniers, l'identification � l'agresseur est plus qu'une d�fense; il s'agit davantage d'une r�action primaire de survie, et d'une formation surmo�que archa�que hyper-r�pressive par �introjection forc�e de la haine et la culpabilit� de l'adulte�. Dans son effort de subjectivation, l'enfant peut ainsi arriver � une position de d�sir et de culpabilit� emprunt�e. Mais ce qui est le plus grave, c'est que manifestement, la naissance de l'enfant a �t� la cause de la folie parentale : �La confusion entre causalit� et culpabilit� joue � plein.� L'enfant croira son parent innocent et se sentira oblig� de le r�parer. La culpabilit� peut �tre v�cue comme un d�sir de s'offrir en sacrifice. Le discours d�lirant, lui-m�me tentative de gu�rison d'une souffrance, �est toujours un discours interpr�tatif des �nigmes que sont pour tout un chacun l'origine, la cause de la vie, de la mort, du d�sir, de la sexualit�.�

Si un tel discours met aussi en relief le conflit qui rend inassumable la place du psychotique dans son identit� sexu�e et dans sa lign�e, M. Enriquez se posera justement la question de l'impact de ces th�ories d�lirantes sur les processus d'identification de l'enfant. Dans cette transmission pathologique, elle insiste sur les multiples pouvoirs de la voix, qualifiante, identifiante, pers�cutante, en tant qu'objet auquel on ne peut se soustraire.

En particulier cette voix de violence peut entraver le travail de liaison, de r�interpr�tation d�sid�alisante, qu'effectu� normalement le passage des th�ories sexuelles infantiles � la cr�ation d'un roman familial. L'enfant du psychotique, quant � lui, doit tenter de recourir � la d�liaison �par une mise � mort des repr�sentations terrorisantes�, (par effacement, d�ni, rejet). D y a �n�cessit� de d�truire la pens�e de l'autre pour se penser soi-m�me.�

En r�sum� : g�n�ration invraisemblable ou d�g�n�ration meurtri�re. L'auteur en arrive enfin � une formulation conclusive : la th�orie d�lirante primaire du parent �non�ant un meurtre entre les sexes ou les g�n�rations, laisse toujours des traces. L'�nonc� pourra �tre reconnu comme faux et l'enfant n'y croira pas, mais les effets n'en persisteront pas moins, obligeant l'enfant � renoncer � la position de parent pour �viter une nouvelle confrontation � la th�orie d�lirante primaire.

L'auteur �voque deux points que P. Aulagnier articule dans l'Apprenti-historien et le ma�tre-sorcier (un ouvrage qui consid�re la psychose comme l'expression d'une d�faillance du processus historique) :

1. Le potentiel catastrophique, pour le psychisme, de la confrontation avec la d�faillance de la fonction historicisante de la m�re.

2. Cette d�faillance tient � une probl�matique du refoulement chez la m�re, laquelle ne peut contre-investir la composante sexuelle de son amour pour l'infans. Le refoulement n'�tant pas transmis normalement, c'est la fonction de repr�sentation et de fantasmatisation qui est compromise. Le discours maternel �chouant � donner � l'infans du sens � ce qu'il vit, c'est alors un autre m�canisme qui peut se substituer au refoulement : �un m�canisme mental de filtrage des pens�es�, autoris�es, ou interdites; dans les deux cas filtrage d�cid� par une instance sup�rieure toute-puissante. L'auteur pense que cette r�flexion de P. Aulagnier, si elle ne fournit pas la cl� de la psychose, �redonne son sens plein � la fameuse forclusion du Nom-du-P�re pos�e par Lacan�. Ce qui laisse entendre que la formule de Lacan �tait par elle-m�me incompl�te sans doute � cause de l'insistance de celui-ci pour que le probl�me de la structuration psychique et de la symbolisation soit situ� au niveau du langage, alors que P. Aulagnier le ram�ne au niveau du pulsionnel, le �pictogramme� �tant une figuration du fonctionnement de la pulsion, comme Green a bien su le voir.

Il est clair que P. Aulagnier consid�rait insuffisantes les th�ories de Lacan, de Klein, Bion, de Freud lui-m�me, sur la signification du discours du psychotique, les modalit�s d'�closion de la psychose et du fonctionnement psychotique. En ce qui concerne Freud, celui dont elle se d�marque le plus, il est piquant de trouver dans un num�ro de Topique de mars 1975, consacr� � �R�alit� historique et psychose�, un avant-propos de P. Aulagnier qui � mon sens y d�finit succinctement son d�saccord, en m�me temps qu'elle y donne une synth�se anticip�e de ses propres travaux. C'est un texte historique, � n'en pas douter. Elle commence par dire que dans un livre qui va para�tre en m�me temps que ce num�ro de Topique (il s'agit de La violence de l'interpr�tation), elle a insist� sur le r�le essentiel du concept de �r�alit� historique� dans le destin de la psych�. Sous ce terme, elle subsume un ensemble d'�v�nements pour en relier en partie l'action potentiellement pathog�ne aux effets que le discours de la m�re va tenir sur eux, ou l'absence de discours du �porte-parole� maternel. Enfin elle �crira : �Si cette description �tait exacte, elle obligerait � repenser l'action attribu�e par Freud � l'�preuve de r�alit� dans l'�closion d'une psychose. Dans un certain nombre de cas, on doit se demander si on n'est pas en pr�sence d'un �exc�s de frustrations� que nulle Anank� ne justifie. Loin d'�tre confront� � �des expressions de la r�bellion du �a contre le monde ext�rieur, des expressions de son d�plaisir ou de son incapacit� � s'adapter � la n�cessit� r�elle de l'Anank� (Freud, Perte de r�alit� dans la n�vrose et la psychose), nous assistons � la lutte que livre la psych� infantile chaque fois qu'elle est confront�e � l'impuissance du discours maternel � donner un sens � l'exp�rience v�cue, et � la surpuissance du d�sir de la m�re de s'approprier l'activit� de penser de l'enfant.�

Hayd�e Faimberg

L'identification �tant un type de lien entre les g�n�rations, il importe d'en comprendre l'histoire. Dans certains cas, l'identification condense une histoire qui n'appartient pas enti�rement � sa g�n�ration. C'est cette condensation de trois g�n�rations que H. Faimberg nomme �t�lescopage g�n�rationnel� et qui appara�t dans les identifications inconscientes des patients r�v�l�es par le transfert.

S'appuyant sur Pulsions et destins des pulsions et Pour introduire le narcissisme, l'auteur porte sa r�flexion sur les rapports du narcissisme parental avec l'identification. Il ne s'agit pas ici de se r�f�rer aux parents r�els, mais bien plut�t de d�crire �la fa�on dont nous les rencontrons dans le transfert comme quelque chose d'inscrit dans la r�alit� psychique du patient.� Cette inscription peut �tre mise en �vidence dans �l'�coute de l'�coute�. Le patient �coute souvent l'interpr�tation de l'analyste en s'identifiant � ces parents internes organisateurs de son psychisme. Cette identification est �ali�n�e ou cliv�e du Moi dans la mesure o� sa cause se trouve dans l'histoire de l'autre�. La partie ali�n�e du Moi est identifi�e � la logique narcissique des parents.

L'auteur distingue deux moments dans le narcissisme parental : celui d'amour narcissique (de l'enfant) auquel elle attribue une fonction d'�appropriation�; la haine narcissique d�signe le second moment qui a une fonction d'�intrusion�. Ces deux moments caract�risent donc l'incidence du narcissisme parental sur la formation de ce que l'auteur nomme l'identit�. La logique narcissique parentale peut s'�noncer ainsi : �Tout ce qui m�rite d'�tre aim�, c'est moi, bien que cela vienne de toi, l'enfant. Ce que je reconnais comme venant de toi, l'enfant, je le hais; en plus je te chargerai de tout ce que je n'accepte pas en moi : toi l'enfant, tu seras mon non-moi.�

Dans le cas de l'appropriation : les parents internes s'approprient l'identit� positive de l'enfant en s'identifiant � ce qui lui appartient. Dans le cas de l'intrusion, ils d�finissent l'enfant par son �identit� n�gative�, en expulsant dans l'enfant ce qu'ils rejettent en eux-m�mes. Faimberg pr�cise ici que l'enfant n'est pas seulement ha� parce qu'il est diff�rent, mais surtout-et c'est l� le paradoxe-�parce que son histoire sera solidaire de l'histoire de ses parents et de tout ce qu'ils n'acceptent pas dans leur r�gulation narcissique.� Dans ce syst�me de r�gime narcissique, les parents �ne peuvent aimer l'enfant sans s'en emparer, ni reconna�tre son ind�pendance sans le ha�r et l'assujettir � leur propre histoire de haine.� Les identifications qui en proc�dent sont ali�nantes pour le sujet mais pourraient n'inclure que deux g�n�rations.

Pour le moment, elle pose la question de l'articulation entre �deux types diff�rents de clivage�, celui qu'elle vient de mettre en �vidence, comme r�sultant des fonctions d'intrusion et d'appropriation de l'investissement narcissique par les parents, et un autre clivage, celui entre les syst�mes Conscient et Inconscient. Elle optera, avec raison, pour l'id�e d'un clivage du Moi op�rant dans les identifications ali�nantes du t�lescopage des g�n�rations, mais semble ind�cise quant � l'action du refoulement dans ces cas. Enfin elle se demande si la fonction d'appropriation/intrusion propre � la r�gulation narcissique est la seule explication du t�lescopage des g�n�rations. Se peut-il que dans les analyses des n�vros�s, le t�lescopage des g�n�rations apparaisse, et soit m�me, �crit-elle, �pourquoi pas, une situation universelle�, interpr�table si l'on en tient compte?

Mais, ce qui est � mon avis plus int�ressant, son �tude �tant apparent�e aux travaux de N. Abraham et M. Torok � cause de leur notion de �fant�me� qui recoupe celle de �mort-vivant�, elle est amen�e � poser la question : �le t�lescopage des g�n�rations a-t-il n�cessairement sa cause dans un probl�me de deuil?� Elle affirme que sa formation kleinienne ne lui permet pas d'ignorer l'importance de la position d�pressive et du deuil. Elle a cependant voulu �laborer son �tude �selon d'autres perspectives.� Suivent quelques remarques sur La m�re morte d'Andr� Green : l'inaccessibilit� de la �m�re morte� doit-elle dans tous les cas �tre la cons�quence d'un deuil? Elle pense, par exemple, qu'on peut �galement consid�rer l'inaccessibilit� maternelle comme une r�sultante d'une identification ali�nante inconsciente. En r�alit�, ajoute-t-elle, �je me pose la question plus g�n�rale d'une possible inscription du probl�me du deuil dans une probl�matique plus large.� Enfin, elle en arrive � �l'id�e d'un deuil impossible qui lui saute aux yeux�. Elle a mis entre parenth�ses la notion de deuil, dont elle croit qu'elle lui a permis de continuer l'analyse de son patient. L'inscription de l'identification inconsciente ali�nante d'un enfant � son p�re qui ne reconna�t pas la mort de sa propre famille, �peut se faire dans un r�seau plus vaste�, celui de la r�sistance � la reconnaissance de la diff�rence des g�n�rations. Si int�ressante que cette hypoth�se puisse �tre, on peut quand m�me s'�tonner que l'auteur n'ait pas davantage pr�cis� les �l�ments des r�f�rences freudiennes sur lesquels elle s'appuie, surtout dans Pulsions et leurs destins o� l'on trouve la description de l'organisation narcissique du Moi, des concepts de double retournement comme destins pulsionnels ant�rieurs au refoulement. Nulle part ne voit-on l'auteur se r�f�rer au d�ni de r�alit�, � diff�rencier du refoulement, qu'on peut difficilement �viter d'�voquer si l'on a recours au concept de clivage du moi. C'est J. Cournut qui me semble avoir le mieux formul� l'apport de Faimberg dans cette �vocation �d'un type sp�cial d'identification inconsciente ali�nante qui condense trois g�n�rations et qui se r�v�le dans le transfert.� Cournut pense que la question pratique qui se pose dans l'abord du transg�n�rationnel n'est pas celle d'�tablir �un arbre g�n�alogique, mais de laisser venir au fil des associations du patient et dans les mouvements contretransf�rentiels, la repr�sentation perdue, ni�e, d�tach�e, que le patient ne veut absolument pas reconna�tre et dont l'apparition d�clenche chez l'analyste un malaise qui participe, pour lui aussi, d'un refus inconscient, c'est bien ce qu'a vu H. Faimberg [... ]21.�

Enfin je pense que dans la formulation de ces pathologies o� l'emprise de l'objet atteint des proportions psychotisantes, on a raison de faire appel � ce principe : que lorsque l'espace intrapsychique n'est pas suffisamment structur� pour que s'y repr�sente bien le conflit, �le pulsionnel est manifest� par le pouvoir de l'objet sur le sujet, sur le moi, sur le fonctionnement psychique22.� On pourrait dire aussi bien, le pouvoir des pulsions de l'objet sur le sujet, le Moi, etc ....

Ainsi, il serait possible, dans la vis�e g�n�ralisante qui int�resse H. Faimberg, d'inscrire les identifications selon le degr� d'emprise ali�nante qu'y exerce l'objet, dans un continuum qui va du registre du n�vrotico-normal � celui de la psychose; traduit en termes kleiniens, du registre de la position d�pressive � celui de la position parano�de.

Dans Le mythe d'Oedipe revisit�, Faimberg cherche � montrer comment, dans le mythe, par le mensonge sur ses origines, le non-dit, le secret, Oedipe est d�poss�d� de son propre destin et conduit aveugl�ment au parricide et � l'inceste. Mettant la question de l'inceste entre parenth�ses, elle a choisi d'�laborer la signification de l'�l�ment filicide-parricide du mythe. Selon elle, le mythe est fond� sur le secret de l'adoption d'Oedipe apr�s la tentative filicide de La�os sur lui. Les cons�quences du mensonge sur ses origines sont la perte des points de rep�re de son identit� et de la confiance dans les v�rit�s psychiques. L'auteur propose alors la notion de configuration oedipienne qui d�signe non seulement la relation entre l'enfant et les parents, mais �galement celle entre les parents et l'enfant telle qu'on peut la reconstruire dans le processus analytique. Elle observe que l'enfant interpr�te int�rieurement le mode de reconnaissance qu'ont ses parents de son alt�rit� et de ce que celle-ci peut signifier pour eux.

Cette notion int�ressante de �configuration oedipienne� permet d'articuler les probl�matiques narcissique et oedipienne et achemine l'auteur vers la distinction m�tapsychologique entre un p�re oedipien et un p�re narcissique. Ce dernier est essentiellement filicide, comme La�os qui avait r�solu de tuer Oedipe, une menace pour lui avant sa naissance. Le p�re oedipien est celui qui, en �non�ant l'interdit de l'inceste, ouvre � son fils la voie d'un projet exogamique.

Mais l'auteur n'arrive pas � d�signer de fa�on pr�cise les m�canismes de cette activit� mensong�re si funeste. Je note, de nouveau, que les notions utilis�es d'inconscient, de Moi, de refoulement, de clivage, de d�ni, de d�n�gation ne sont pas clairement articul�es.

R�f�rons-nous donc � Freud. Par exemple, dans Au-del� du principe de plaisir, il affirme qu'il est �vident que la tendance qui pousse l'analysant �� reproduire en faveur du transfert les �v�nements de p�riodes pass�es de sa vie est, sous tous les rapports, ind�pendante du principe de plaisir.� C'est ainsi qu'il nous inviterait, selon une formulation de Michel Fain23 que j'ai un peu modifi�e, � �tablir une opposition entre un �Inconscient dynamique-premi�re topique�, lequel tend � produire des rejetons en fonction du principe de plaisir-d�plaisir, sous la coupe des pulsions de vie, de liaison, et un Inconscient r�p�titif, au-del� du principe de plaisir, qui tend � immobiliser le pr�c�dent, et serait sous la coupe de la pulsion de mort, dont la vis�e est la d�liaison. Cette id�e a peut-�tre l'avantage d'articuler appareil psychique et deuxi�me th�orie des pulsions, de m�me que de d�limiter dans le Moi les territoires distincts du refoulement et du clivage. Notons d'ailleurs �galement que ce dernier m�canisme, (dont on a eu � faire si grand �tat de nos jours), est d�j� mentionn� dans Vue d'ensemble des n�vroses de transfert, (manuscrit de 1915, retrouv� en 1984), d�s les premi�res pages. Parlant du refoulement dans les trois n�vroses de transfert, Freud en donne la signification famili�re. Puis il �crit : �nous dirons que, dans le groupe le plus proche, (vraisemblablement les n�vroses narcissiques, selon l'�diteur), le refoulement a une autre topique, il s'�largit alors au concept de clivage.�

J.-J. Baranes discute des transformations produites en psychanalyse dans les deux derni�res d�cennies par le passage d'une �topique r�alitaire�-terme propos� par N. Abraham dans les ann�es 68-74 pour sa m�tapsychologie du secret-�vers les �l�ments d'une topique intersubjective qu'appellent les recherches sur le transg�n�rationnel.�

De plus en plus, depuis les ann�es 60, les analystes ont rencontr� des patients dont le mat�riel psychique est diff�rent, �hors de port�e du pr�conscient�, n'ayant aucune tendance au retour � la conscience et � la rem�moration, caract�ristique du retour du refoul�, et donnant lieu � des formes sp�ciales de transfert. On y observe la pr�dominance d'une force n�gative tenant de l'inqui�tant �tranger plut�t que du refoulement.

Les travaux de N. Abraham et M. Torok marquent alors une �tape importante, de 1968 � 1974, avec leurs analyses de l'�encryptement�, des �deuils non faits� et des �revenants�. Abraham et Torok �laboreront leur topique de �l'encryptement�, la caract�risant par son aspect �r�alitaire�. La crypte �contient une r�alit� inavouable.� Cette topique diff�re de celle de l'Inconscient dynamique et du Moi de l'introjection pulsionnelle.

La filiation Abraham-Torok remontant � Ferenczi, J.-J. Baranes note que ce dernier avait rouvert en 1932 le �champ de la r�alit� de l'objet� en psychanalyse, longtemps mis en veilleuse par Freud dans son souci d'axer le travail analytique sur les destins de la pulsion, par rapport � laquelle l'objet �tait contingent. Ferenczi avait insist� sur l'id�e du �parent ali�nant et abusif envers l'enfant innocent�, et Freud avait repris la th�orie du trauma dans Analyse finie ... en 1937.

La diff�rence chez Abraham-Torok, c'est que la notion de traumatisme fait appel � deux crit�res : d'abord l'atteinte au narcissisme, puis la perte de la capacit� de repr�sentation cons�cutive � l'incorporation, au clivage et � l'encryptement.

Chez Freud, le concept d'introjection est li� au travail de deuil de l'objet. Abraham et Torok, pour leur part, proposeront en 1968 l'id�e du r�le assimilateur ou non de l'objet dans l'introjection pulsionnelle et le fonctionnement topique du moi. �L'incorporation signe pour eux le secret-d�ni� de l'objet : elle surgit dans la cure par l'interm�diaire du clivage et de la crypte.� Les avantages de la distinction entre incorporation de l'objet et introjection des pulsions de l'objet apparaissent, selon moi, plus clairement chez Maria Torok24. Freud pensait que le travail du deuil visait � la rupture du lien avec l'objet perdu, par un processus de d�tachement de la libido qui pouvait mener �ventuellement � de nouveaux investissements. En distinguant entre incorporation et introjection, M. Torok permet de concevoir deux phases ou moments distincts dans le travail de deuil. L'incorporation est pour Torok un processus de conservation de l'objet pouvant s'opposer au d�tachement, et, dans certains cas de deuils pathologiques, conduire � la formation d'un objet inclus ing�r� mais non consomm�, donnant lieu � la m�taphore du fantasme du �cadavre exquis� et de la �crypte�. Au refus de la perte de l'objet, laquelle est ni�e, s'ajoute l'�chec de l'introjection des pulsions de l'objet dans le Moi. Cons�quence : le Moi n'assume pas les pulsions de destruction qui �taient destin�es � l'objet. Il faut lever le d�ni et le clivage pour arriver � exclure l'objet torturant afin de r�tablir le r�gime des investissements selon l'introjection dans le Moi non cliv� des pulsions de l'objet. Green, dont je me suis largement inspir� dans la pr�sente note, a pr�f�r� parler de l'introjection des affects du deuil plut�t que des pulsions, la reconnaissance tardive de ceux-ci �tant le propre du deuil diff�r�25.

J.-J. Baranes endosse toutefois la critique de M. Tort (1986) � l'�gard des g�n�alogies psychopathologiques qui �reposent sur une syst�matique g�n�ralisante et tournent le dos � l'analyse.� En maniant �un certain type de causalit� comme une r�ponse ou cl�ture, selon un mod�le g�n�tique�, on risque l'illusion de �tenir� l'inconscient. � recommande, en ce qui concerne les avatars et le statut du transg�n�rationnel, qu'� l'oppos� des th�ories qui voudraient promouvoir des �causes assignables� (i.e. �fant�mes�), on suive la r�gle pour tout �concept psychanalytique de bonne tenue�, selon P.C. Racamier (1990) : �observation de la pathologie individuelle, ensuite, plan familial et enfin le registre g�n�ral de la vie psychique.� Mais il ne faudrait pas, au sujet des cons�quences dans la pratique psychanalytique des hypoth�ses de N. Abraham et M. Torok sur les patients cryptophones, que j'omette ici le commentaire de J.-J. Baranes qu'il a d�j� publi� en 1989, (Questions pour demain, monographie de la RFP), lequel fournit cette belle formulation : �Les hypoth�ses transg�n�rationnelles, qui articulent les donn�es actuelles � une pr�histoire parentale ou grandparentale, ne doivent pas, en effet, devenir nouveau stade du d�veloppement, point de vue g�n�tique ou d�veloppemental ant�rieur au sujet lui-m�me. Si cela devenait le cas, on aurait perdu toute cr�dibilit� analytique, ce qui aurait �t� gagn� en extension, l'�tiologie traumatique, prenant le pas sur le travail et la causalit� psychique, et ceci d'ailleurs pour les deux protagonistes de la rencontre. Comme tout point de vue historique en psychanalyse, ces perspectives ne peuvent �tre qu'� l'indispensable carrefour, ou croisement, du diachronique et du synchronique, de l'�v�nement et de la structure.�

Plus loin, pour souligner l'actualit� et la permanence de la question de la transmission psychique entre les g�n�rations, Bar �nes met en perspective la possibilit� d'un danger qui consisterait dans le resurgissement subreptice d'une double th�matique non analytique dans l'usage du transg�n�rationnel; d'abord celle d'une causalit� �tiologique lin�aire d'origine externe pr�cise, pour rendre compte de certains �checs de la symbolisation, puis celle d'une vis�e r�paratrice ou projective qui fait de la cure �un proc�s intent� aux g�n�rations pr�c�dentes plut�t que �!'assumption de l'�tranger intime en chacun.�

Il insistera sur la place centrale qu'occup� l'identification par sa double vectorisation. Celle-ci d�coule du fait relev� par les auteurs du Vocabulaire de la psychanalyse, � savoir, le double sens auquel on peut entendre le terme �identifier�; sens transitif : reconna�tre pour identique; sens r�fl�chi : s'identifier, c'est prendre en soi, op�ration capitale dans la structuration du sujet. Donc double registre de l'identification, le transg�n�rationnel consistant dans ce �commerce identificatoire avec l'autre parental, particuli�rement �vident dans l'�tablissement du Surmoi.�

Sous la rubrique �de l'ali�nation oblig�e�, l'auteur sugg�re que �le transg�n�rationnel n'est qu'une facette du processus identificatoire, mais dont les exc�s, si impressionnants en clinique, ne font que d�voiler l'intime de ce dernier.� Ce qui lui fournit le pr�texte, au sujet de l'ali�nation dans les identifications, d'une comparaison des vues de H. Faimberg, de ce qu'elle appelle le �t�lescopage des g�n�rations�, avec celles de Bernard Penot26. D�gag�e par P. Aulagnier des premi�res vues de Lacan sur la division du sujet, la notion de �l'ali�nation �/par l'autre est au coeur de la libert� � venir, comme elle est, implicitement au centre de l'exp�rience analytique.� L'ouvrage de Penot rend compte de son abord de patients psychotiques en institution, et de certains autres chez qui le d�ni de r�alit� et le clivage dominent le tableau clinique. Il privil�gie une conception lacanienne du sujet et du surmoi, pour tenter d'�clairer les probl�matiques ci-haut mentionn�es. � partir de la notion de �matrice signifiante�, selon laquelle la r�alit� psychique s'�difie sur un syst�me de messages parentaux, Penot pose, suivant Lacan, �cette disjonction entre imagerie sp�culaire et la symbolique du discours comme structure de l'humain.� Le d�ni de r�alit� chez ces patients proc�de d'un �syst�me de pens�e pr�form�, traversant son espace psychique, et celui du th�rapeute, dans un pur d�terminisme de r�p�tition.� D se produit alors �une non-congruence entre identifiant et identifi�, non-congruence qui rend manifestes �divers d�saveux entre lign�es parentales, entre g�n�rations�, et compromet ainsi le r�le des id�aux du moi dans la symbolisation.

En mettant l'accent sur le r�le du discours de l'autre et des id�aux dans la constitution du narcissisme, Baranes pense que Penot s'�loigne d'une conception lin�aire de la gen�se du Moi : h�t�rog�n�it� des supports narcissiques du sujet, division essentielle de celui-ci, ces postulats garantiraient que �toutes les difficult�s de la symbolisation sont int�grables dans une interpr�tation en termes de d�saveu r�ciproque ou de conflit inavouables ou inconciliables entre g�n�rations.� Baranes voit dans ces r�flexions de Penot une ouverture � la question du transfert dans ces cas o� l'�laboration fantasmatique est d�faillante. J'ajouterai que ce qui est dit de l'ouvrage de Penot illustre tr�s clairement ce qu'il y a de f�cond dans l'�clectisme lacanien de la position de cet auteur, surtout dans la compr�hension des cas o� les id�aux du moi des parents sont en conflit mutuel. Cette notion de conflit d'id�aux parentaux lui inspirera une int�ressante interpr�tation du Trouble de m�moire sur l'Acropole de Freud. La compulsion de r�p�tition, selon le mod�le de Lacan dans la Lettre vol�e, rend compte du retour r�p�titif, dans les relations chez les soignants et le th�rapeute, de la probl�matique familiale du psychotique.

Mais la doctrine de Lacan s'accommode mal de ce qu'on puisse intervenir chez les sujets dont la structure est carenc�e dans le rapport � l'Autre, de sorte que la position de B. Penot l'expose � des contradictions au plan de la conception de la cure. C'est G. Diatkine, non sans en avoir d'abord relev� quelques-unes, qui viendra subtilement � son secours en concluant : �Les buts de l'analyse pour Freud et pour Lacan constituent pour les analystes d'aujourd'hui des id�aux contradictoires. B. Penot nous montre qu'il est possible de vivre ces id�aux sans qu'ils se d�savouent r�ciproquement dans la psych� de l'analyste27.�

Baranes en vient � commenter le travail de Faimberg, rappelant qu'elle a d�j� travaill� avec W. Baranger en Argentine, o� Klein, Bion et Winnicott, notamment, l'ont influenc�e. � parle de sa r�f�rence s�lective aux concepts de narcissisme et de pulsion, et du Moi de la premi�re topique freudienne, mettant en suspens la question du deuil. Faimberg s'int�resse depuis nombre d'ann�es aux r�sistances narcissiques � la blessure oedipienne, ce t�moin de la diff�rence des sexes et des g�n�rations, et propose, comme on l'a vu, le concept de �l'�coute de l'�coute�, ce qui rend possible l'apparition, dans la cure, �des discours des parents internes.� L'issue favorable en serait l'ouverture du champ de l'histoire du sujet et son appropriation; autrement, ce pourrait �tre le parent interne assurant la r�gulation narcissique, qui parle pour le sujet, mais en le d�poss�dant de son histoire. Ce n'est pas sur son usage tr�s personnel de la m�tapsychologie que Baranes engage sa discussion des travaux de Faimberg : celle-ci ne semblant pas consid�rer que les identifications ali�nantes se manifestant dans le t�lescopage des g�n�rations sont une facette du processus identificatoire transg�n�rationnel, va nier toute valeur autre que descriptive � ce dernier terme. Se demandant si le t�lescopage n'est qu'une forme particuli�re d'identification o� l'objet fait intrusion, elle est plut�t tent�e de radicaliser sa notion et de lui conf�rer une validit� universelle, dans le sens o� elle serait pertinente dans toutes les cures. � quoi J.-J. Baranes fait valoir qu'il y a toujours du transg�n�rationnel dans la mesure o� il y a toujours de l'Autre en soi.

Les processus qui lient �troitement identification et transg�n�rationnel consistent dans le �travail d'un temps psychique� en terme de ressaisie de la perte, l'appropriation et la transmission entre les g�n�rations d'un mat�riau psychique analogue par sa r�p�tition au mat�riau g�n�tique. Mais ce mat�riau psychique transmis, s'il est information, contient aussi la cl� de son usage. Ce serait au plan �des organisateurs symboliques et de la structure�, qu'agiraient les v�ritables vecteurs des investissements et de l'identification subjective. Pour le psychanalyste, la r�flexion sur la �construction de l'identit� ne saurait se dispenser de prendre en compte �l'extr�me complexit� de la r�gulation contractuelle� de celle-ci par le groupe familial et social. Ce que vient justement approfondir le concept de �contrat narcissique� de P. Aulagnier. (1975). Il souhaite que le concept de transg�n�rationnel reste ouvert � des d�veloppements toujours plus f�conds, sans doute dans le sens de cette �topique intersubjective�, qu'appellent les recherches des auteurs de cet ouvrage remarquable.

Pour conclure ...

La m�tapsychologie pourra-t-elle d�douaner l'intersubjectif, une importation h�g�lienne dans la psychanalyse, comme elle a su le faire pour le n�gatif, notion h�g�lienne elle aussi? La conception du sujet de la pulsion ne pourrait que s'en trouver enrichie. En revanche, il incomberait �galement � la m�tapsychologie de pr�ciser les rapports de la pulsion au lien interhumain, ce que sugg�rait justement B. Brusset en 1988(28).

Mais il n'y a gu�re de psychanalystes qui contesteraient l'importance d�terminante de la dimension intersubjective dans la structuration de la vie psychique. R. Cahn �crivait d�j� en 1991 : �de la th�orie de la pulsion � la relation intersubjective, en passant par la relation d'objet, l'ensemble de l'�difice m�tapsychologique se voit consid�rablement remani� dans son interrelation avec la clinique. A quoi s'�taye notre propre perspective accordant � l'objet premier non seulement le r�le de p�le pulsionnel, mais de fixation � la fois objectalisante (Green, 1986) et subjectalisante29.�

En ce qui concerne plus sp�cifiquement l'avenir, si l'on peut dire, du transg�n�rationnel, c'est encore une id�e de Green que m'a sugg�r�e le terme d'�organisateurs symboliques�, employ� par Baranes, comme vecteurs des investissements et de l'identification. Que dire de la vectorisation de l'association? La r�ponse de Freud s'appuie sur la phylog�n�se. Green pense alors qu'il est n�cessaire, non pas de renoncer au concept des fantasmes originaires, �mais d'approfondir les moyens de leur transmission inductive par les aspects les plus occultes mais non les moins puissants, de la culture appuy�e sur la force des investissements transg�n�rationnels30.�

Un autre d�veloppement qu'on peut esp�rer de ces recherches est celui d'une contribution � une m�tapsychologie du contre-transfert, telle que Jean Guillaumin en a longuement expos� la n�cessit� dans son article de 1994 : �Les contrebandiers du transfert ou le contre-transfert et le contournement du cadre par la r�alit� ext�rieure31.� Guillaumin y parle de l'intuition que para�t avoir eue Freud dans les ann�es 20, avec Psychologie des foules et analyse du Moi surtout, sans la d�velopper toutefois, �d'une sorte d'ext�riorisation p�riph�rique du transfert et du contre-transfert par rapport � l'appareil psychique.� Cet auteur croit que depuis la mort de Freud, l'orientation des travaux et recherches de psychanalystes dans des champs consid�r�s comme marginaux ou �trangers par rapport � la cure classique, � savoir : les groupes, la psychose) les groupes et la psychose constituent des champs marginaux par rapport � la cure classique), pourrait l'aider � reprendre la question du contre-transfert laiss�e de c�t�, sinon n�glig�e, par Freud, et lui fournir de nouveaux �l�ments d'une m�tapsychologie qui reste � fake.

[Author Affiliation]

JEAN-LOUIS LANGLOIS

Outremont QC

[Author Affiliation]

Jean-Louis Langlois

1120, avenue Bernard, no 22

Outremont, QC H2V 1V3